Metal furniture



Oct. 27, 1925.

P. C. JASPER METAL FURNITURE Filed Oct. 11. 1922 Patented Oct. 27, 1925.

AIl() UNITED STATES y 1,558,618 PATENT OFFICE.

PETER C. JASPER, OF MICHIGAN CITY, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR OF THIRTX PER CENT TO JOSEPH DIRCKX, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

METAL FURNITURE.

'Application 111er). October 11, 1922. Serial No. 593,703.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, PETER C. JASPER, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Michigan City, in the county of La Porte and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Metal Furniture, of which the following is a Specification.

My invention relates to lmetal furniture and particularly to means for connecting the legs thereof to the top.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide a corner construction of simple form and which will be relatively strong and rigid. To that end I provide side frames, the terminal portions of which are interrupted at a point short of intersection, a diagonally disposed plate bridging the space beween the shortened ends, thereby providing a plane surface disposed at an angle of 45 degrees to each of the side frames, the width of the plane surface being somewhat less than the diameter of a leg at its widest point. In vaddition I provide a second diagonally disposed plate parallel to and spaced away from the first mentioned plate and serving as a support or bearing for a clamping screw. The le is provided with afiller of wood or meta and the leg and filler are slitted vertically from the top to accommodate the first mentioned diagonally` disposed plate. The plates, the post and filler are perforated and the clamping screw is in threaded engagement with the portion of the iiller outside of the plate. clamping force exerted by the screw tends to pull the filler inward and inasmuch as the diagonal plate vis preferably located at a point inside of the point of greatestdiameter of the post, the clamping force is exerted on a portion of the post located outside of the slit. The remainder of the clamping force is exerted on the first mentioned diagonal plate. The bearing of the clamping screw on the second diagonal plate tends to force the plate outwardly and this is resisted by the bearing of the plate on the angular corner of the post. `Thus each force is resisted and there is a balance which renders the structure extremely rigid.

Preferably the parts are so dimensioned that there is a neat fit between the post and the respective ends of the side frames and Thus a inasmuch as the vertical slit in the post is located at a point inside of a diagonal cen-4 ter line, a portion of the post at each side will be located outside of, Ithe plane of the side frames. This adds to the attractiveness of the article while contributing to its mechanical utility.

The invention will be more readily understood by reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a side elevation of a common table constructed in accordance with my invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of the corner construction of the side frames;

Figure 3 is a plan view with the` top removed showing a wood iiller in position.

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional view throigh the construction shown in Figure Figure 5 is a vertical elevation with the top in section;

Figure 6 is a perspective view showing the construction of the upper portion of the legs; and

Figure 7 is a similar view showing a filler block.

0 In the drawings it will be seen that I have illustrated a simple form of table consisting of a top 10, side frames 11, and legs 12. As shown, the side frames 11 may be of channel form and the ends are terminated short of intersection thereby leaving an otherwise open space of a width less than the diameter of a leg to be associated therewith. A plate is provided having portions 13 arranged parallel to the webs of the side frames 11and an intermediate portion 14 spanning the space at the ends of the side frames and providing a plane surface disposedat an angle of 45 4degrees to the side frames 11.

A second plate similarly constructed and comprising portions 15 parallel to the side frames and anintermediate portion 16 parallel to the portion 14 of the iirst plate, is spaced away from the first mentioned plate and secured with the first mentioned plate to the side frames by rivets 17 or by welding as desired. Both the diagonal plates 14, 16, are provided with slots 18, 19, extending upwardly from their lower edges for a purpose to be later described.

The leg or post which I prefer to employ is, in the construction illustrated, of rec- .tangular form having equal sides-and con-l Figure 8, may be composed of wood 21 or asindicated in Figure 7, may be of metal 22. If composed Aof wood it will be `notched to provide a recess for a metal nut 23, as shown in Figure 4 The filler is'likewise slitted to register with the slit in the post.l The post and filler are each provided with a registering aperture 24 and a clamping screw is located therein. The threaded stem 25 of the screw engages the nut 23 while'the shoulder 26 thereof bears upon-the plate 16. In event a metal filler is employed, the body portion 27 thereof is tapped and the nut 23 is thereby eliminated.

In assembling the parts as shown, the clamping screw may be placed loosely 1n the aperture 24 whereupon the leg 1s placed bei neath the corner of the table and the plate 14 caused to register with the slits in the post. The post is then forcibly moved upwardly, the shank of the clamping screw passing upward in the slots 18, 19, in the'v diagonal plates.l When the post has reached its normal position, thatv is, when the diagonal plate 14 has reached the bottom of the slits 20 in the post the clamping screw may be actuated and the parts securely fastened in place. If the floor on which the table stands is uneven, the leg may easily be adjusted vertically by loosening the clamping screw and lengthening the leg by moving it downward relative to the frame, afterwards tightly clamping the parts in position. By reason of the fact that the slit in the post is located inside of the diagonal center line, the post will project outside of the plane of the side frames. This not only enhances the appearance of the article but .contributes a functional advantage in that the main body portion of the filler is confined within a space which converges in the direction of the pull exerted on thefiller. Anygforce tending to expand the leg by reason of this clamping force,- is resisted by the bearing of the sides of the post on the ends of the lside frames.

Obviously the design of the furniture is immaterial so far as this invention is concerned and that itmay be applied to many forms of tables, chairs, and other articles without departing from the spirit of my invention. I therefore do not wish to be l1m1ted except as indicated in the appended l claims.

I claim: \\1. In metal furniture, the combination of angularly disposed side frames terminating at a point short of intersection, a plate secured to the side frames and extending diagonally between their respective ends, a leg having a vertical slit in its upper end, the leg being dimensioned to fit between the ends of the side frames and to admit said plate within said slit, a clamp-supporting member spaced away from said plate and extending between the side frames, and a clamping screw extending through said supporting member and plate and having threaded engagement with the leg outside of said slit.

2. In' metal furniture, the combination of frame members terminating short of intersection, a plate bridging the space between the ends of the frames, said plate having a slot extending upwardly from its lower edge, a second plate parallel to and spaced away from said iirst plate, said plate being providedl with a registering slot, a leg having a filler in its upper end, the leg and filler being slitted vertically, a screw clamp adapted to be received within the slots in said plates and having a bearing on said second plate, said screw extending into and having screw engagement with the filler in said leg whereby said screw clamp may be engaged with the leg and the leg slid upwardly with the plate in said slot and clamped in a desired position. v

Signed at Michigan City, Ind., this 4 day of October, 1922.

PETER C. JASPER. 

